Ph reading is super low

[oshanickreef]

For some reason my ph probes are reading 7.4 right now. It’s hot here and my A/C is on basically all the time. Is this going to affect anything in my tank? Thanks


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[Bill_Moorman]

Are you dosing anything?

What are your big three readings? (All, Calc and Mag)

I would suggest opening a window a bit each day to let more O2 into the area. Also, do you have good surface agitation?




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[alton]

Like Bill said Low oxygen leads to low PH. I feel many of the newer style sumps do not do a great job of adding oxygen to the water.

[Sk8r]

Have you got a sump and skimmer? That injects oxygen.

[oshanickreef]

Originally Posted by oshanickreef

For some reason my ph probes are reading 7.4 right now. It’s hot here and my A/C is on basically all the time. Is this going to affect anything in my tank? Thanks


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I am dosing alk and calcium.
Alk = 8.4
Cal= 425
Mag = 1380


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[oshanickreef]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Have you got a sump and skimmer? That injects oxygen.

Yes i have a skinner that is quite large. Reef octopus 3000super space saver


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[oshanickreef]

How long should i keep the door open in every day? I’m in the Midwest and it is hotttttt here!


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[nereefpat]

Have you cleaned and calibrated the pH probe recently? I'm not sure I believe 7.4

If you wanted to rule out aeration issues, you could take a sample outside and aerate it, then check pH.

[oshanickreef]

Originally Posted by nereefpat

Have you cleaned and calibrated the pH probe recently? I'm not sure I believe 7.4



If you wanted to rule out aeration issues, you could take a sample outside and aerate it, then check pH.

I calibrated both of them twice. With a 7 solution and a 10 solution


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[oshanickreef]

I opened a door. It is up to 7.5 now. So that is a good sign!


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[jd371]

Running an airline from the skimmer to the outside helped raise the pH for me.

[nereefpat]

If you've confirmed that it's a CO2 issue, then I would look into CO2 scrubber media for the skimmer inlet.

[oshanickreef]

Originally Posted by jd371

Running an airline from the skimmer to the outside helped raise the pH for me.

Curious what you mean by this. I could probably do this without much trouble. Can you explain why this would raise the ph?


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[oshanickreef]

Originally Posted by nereefpat

If you've confirmed that it's a CO2 issue, then I would look into CO2 scrubber media for the skimmer inlet.

Ok i will look into this for sure. Media looks a little pricey lol


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[josephxsxn]

Originally Posted by oshanickreef

Curious what you mean by this. I could probably do this without much trouble. Can you explain why this would raise the ph?


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So for example I have the same gas imbalance in my house. Running a line out the window so that outdoor air is pulled into the skimmer air intake or setup some airstone. The key is that the origin of the air your 'using' is coming from outside where the gas is balanced. Your home is likely air tight which is causing this problem. This solution is much cheaper then scrubber media. If you can run an outdoor line I would do that before buying scrubber media.

My PH was hitting 7.5 before running an outdoor line with 2 airstone in my sump. Now I am Rock solid at 8.0+ all the time.

[josephxsxn]

Originally Posted by oshanickreef

Curious what you mean by this. I could probably do this without much trouble. Can you explain why this would raise the ph?


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Sorry I see you asked why. You can read this. I would have edited my prior post to add this link but it seems like right now the edit button is gone.


http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

[Uncle99]

Originally Posted by jd371

Running an airline from the skimmer to the outside helped raise the pH for me.

This is good advice. This works well and should bring ya to 8.2 ish

CO2 in your home from people and pets is mixing in the water and lowering your PH.

Pulling in oxygenated (outside) and mixing in the water with your skimmer works well.

CO2 scrubbers work well but the media gets a bit expensive in comparison to the free air from outside.

[oshanickreef]

Originally Posted by Uncle99

This is good advice. This works well and should bring ya to 8.2 ish



CO2 in your home from people and pets is mixing in the water and lowering your PH.



Pulling in oxygenated (outside) and mixing in the water with your skimmer works well.



CO2 scrubbers work well but the media gets a bit expensive in comparison to the free air from outside.

Ok my next question. Is this the air intake? Also where would one go to purchase the hose and carbon airline filter? I live in a condo association and they def spray around here for bugs.


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[oshanickreef]

I forgot to post the pic




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[josephxsxn]

That looks like it to me, it has a dial on it so you can silence it (ie expose more or less of a hole)? What model skimmer do you have maybe we can find a diagram.

[Uncle99]

So, I someone is spraying (or can spray) for bugs, then I would not do the outside air idea, this would/could be quite deadly.

You may have to go with the CO2 scrubber, which is basically a tube containing a CO2 absorption material and your skimmer air inlet (usually going into the submersed motor) sucks its air from the tube instead of the room your DT or Sump is in.

You-tube has DIY videos and BRS sells a kit.

[Bill_Moorman]

Take some sample water in a cup and take it outside. Aerate it with a air stone and air pump, or just take a whisk and whisk the crap out of it for a few minutes. Take a pH reading.

If it’s higher, you likely need more fresh air in your house.

I saw you said someone was spraying for bugs, which is right, don’t bring that into your house if possible.

Since your dosing 2 part, the soda ash should chemically raise your pH, but it can only go so far without O2.

What you can do is an old freshwater trick and take some lead fishing weights (make sure they are lead, not tungsten) which you can get from Walmart, and some 3% hydrogen peroxide. Put some weights in a bottle and use a drill to put a hole just the size of airline tubing in the lid. Push airline tubing into the lid just deep enough to seal it but not into the peroxide and then cover the lead weights with the peroxide. The chemical reaction releases O2. Run the airline with an air stone to your tank and let it bubble.

http://www.coloradoaquarium.org/pics/oxy.html




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[2wheelsonly]

Originally Posted by oshanickreef

For some reason my ph probes are reading 7.4 right now. It’s hot here and my A/C is on basically all the time. Is this going to affect anything in my tank? Thanks


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Pick up a co2 monitor from amazon for like $30, you will be surprised to see how much your indoor co2 levels rise in the summer with the AC on full blast. In the winter my ph reads 8.2 avg and in the summer I am 7.7. It's a heat pump unit all electric and it's not like my house is opened up in summer vs winter. I think it has to do with heat and pressure on why air seems to stay inside in the summer vs winter.

IF your indoor readings are high (1200+) I would talk to your hvac company about installing some type of fresh air ventilation for you unit. That's what I did and I am back to 8.2 ph avg. I can't figure out why oh why indoor co2 is much higher in summer vs winter.

[XeniaMania]

Since it's hot, you probably don't have the windows open and have a buildup of CO2 indoors.

[saf1]

I would re-test and make sure the pH measurement is actually correct. 7.4 and you should be melting everything in the tank. If you are using a probe re-calibrate it or replace and then calibrate it. I thought my pH was reading 7.8 for the longest time via my Apex probe. No signs of duress in the tank yet it kept reading. Finally one day I was taking other tank measurements when I looked to my left and saw my Red Sea had a pH test. Ran that and it measured 8.3. Test again, same...

Pulled apex pH probe, cleaned it up in RI/RO water, recalibrated it and now it is reading more along the same line of 8.3. May not be the same in your case but just verify your measurement before you try and add/dose to correct.